Showing papers on "Malayalam published in 2004"

FACT-G: reliability and validity of the Malayalam translation.

Abstract: Background: Emphasis is currently being placed on the need for quality of life in cancer survivors. There is a great need to identify an appropriate tool for quality of life estimation in these linguistically and culturally different settings. Patients and method: The Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G) questionnaire was translated into the Malayalam language complying with the standard cross-cultural translation methodology. The tool was validated and used for estimating quality of life (QOL) of 214 cancer patients undergoing treatment with curative intent. Results: Cronbach's α for the Malayalam version of the FACT-G was 0.8, and for the subscales it ranged from 0.64 to 0.83, compared to source tool α of 0.89, with the subscale's ranging from 0.63 to 0.89. The mean overall FACT-G score was 79.8 (standard deviation [SD] = 18.7). Socio-economic factors such as education, education of the spouse, occupation of the spouse, and family income were found to influence FACT-G scores. Conclusion: Despite cultural variations, the local Malayalam language version of the FACT-G scale was found to be reliable like the source scale and sensitive cross-culturally. The instrument makes it possible to identify domains influencing QOL and thereby may help direct interventions to them.

Recognition of Unconstrained Malayalam Handwritten Numeral.

Abstract: Main problem in handwritten recognition is the huge variability and distortion of patterns. To take care of writing variability of different individuals, a recognition scheme for isolated off-line unconstrained Malayalam handwritten numeral is proposed here. Main features used in the scheme are based on water-reservoir concept. A reservoir is a metaphor to illustrate the cavity region of the numeral where water can store if water is poured from a side of the numeral. The important reservoir based features used in the scheme are: (i) number of reservoirs (ii) positions of reservoirs with respect to bounding box of the touching pattern (iii) height and width of the reservoirs (iv) water flow direction, etc. Topological and structural features are also used for the recognition along with water reservoir concept based features. Close loop features (number of close loop, position of loops with respect to the bounding box of the component) are the main topological features used here. In the structural feature we consider the morphological pattern of the numeral. At present we obtained 96.34% overall recognition accuracy.

Malayala Granthasoochi 2004 of Government Brennen College, Tellycherry: The first electronic catalogue in Indian languages

Abstract: Government Brennen College released the Malayala Granthasoochi 2004 -CDROM on 30.03.2004 which is first electronic catalogue using search mechanism for original Malayalam script based on UNESCO's CDS/ISIS. This is an extract from the talk conducted in the Seminar in connection with the release of the publication. The talk covers earlier similar attempts as well as the research for developing script and DBMS applications in Malayalam that the computers can search and sort according to the syntactic and semantic relations. The contributions of Sri. K H Hussain, Sri K M Govi and the Rachana Aksharavedi which proclaimed Our Script for Our Language etc are stressed. Expresses the hope that in the development of State Information Infrastructure, in which major part of the content is to be in Malayalam, the concerned can utilize the technology successfully experimented in the present product. In this context the author who managed the project considers that the technology used is highly relevant for ICT application to participatory development as well as providing information services at grass roots level.

Polymorphism data at DYS385 locus in five ethnic groups from Kerala in Southern West India.

Abstract: POPULATION We have studied the DNA polymorphism at DYS385, a Y-chromosomal tetranucleotide repeat locus among five anthropologically distinct ethnic groups of Kerala state in Southern West India. The ethnic groups were Ezhavas, Muslims, Nairs, Arayas and Thandans and they speak "Malayalam." an Indo-Dravidian language. Peripheral blood samples were collected from 72 random, healthy and normal male volunteers for this study.

Compulsory Individuality and the Trans/national Family of Nations: The Girl-Child, Bollywood Barbie, and Ms. Worldly Universe

Abstract: The worlds that I grew up in were trans/national and hybrid. Like many middle-class and upper-middle-class peers in India, I grew up in multiple languages: Malayalam, Hindi, Bengali, and English—in many accents. I grew up in urban India where many of us got contradictory messages about swadeshi and videshi.1 Our economics textbooks told us that if only we would reproduce less and control our population, our amazing culture would crawl out of poverty and underdevelopment. At my Catholic English medium school, learning Hindi, Bengali, and English was unevenly coordinated with Malayalam, the language of home. Hindi was the language, second only to English, that promised national and trans/national mobility. The worlds of Hindi presented many inconsistencies to me. It was the postcolonial State’s language of national identity that marked the songs of Independence and Republic Days,2 the tongue of politicians, and Doordarshan.3 It was at once revered for its purity (shudh Hindi or pure Hindi) and its national authenticity by our school instructors and politicians, and ridiculed by some of us from English medium schools because Hindi instructors and speakers had funny accents when they spoke in English. But most of all Hindi, especially the competent shudh speakers, represented to many of us the xenophobic postcolonial Hindi-Hindu culture that hegemonically saturated much of our lives.